Trial of Fire
by Emmaline Firestone
Summary: PoT/Hunger Games. Life in Japan has just taken a turn for the worse. When the Trial of Fire starts, what will happen to everyone? Will this ever stop? Marui/OC, maybe some other pairings. OC's name is Satou Hikari. Review please!
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

"Hey, did you hear?"

"Yeah, I did. It doesn't sound too good, does it?"

"I would hate to be in it."

Normally, Hikari wouldn't pay attention to the gossip that happened at the start of every day, but now she was. Because this new idea that the new government had was horrible. Last night, Hikari was watching the news. It showed that a new government had taken over Japan. They seemed to be…liking their power, and they wanted to make sure each person knew that. They wanted to show people what they could do if something displeased them. So they had announced that from now on, every year, there would be a battle to the death. It would consist of boys and girls from age 12 to 18. Every well known school from every prefecture would send in 1 boy tribute and one girl tribute. Of course, Rikkai was one of those well known schools. The 'reaping' as they called it, would take place tomorrow. Today, the school would tell them the details. When the battle started, no one would have school. Everyone would be forced to watch this battle. Hikari shuddered at the thought of being chosen.

"Hey! Hikari!" yelled her best friend, Ayame. Hikari turned around to greet her.

"Hey." she said.

"This whole thing sucks. It's going to be the only thing people will talk about today and tomorrow." said Ayame. "And what if you personally know the boy tribute from your school? That would be horrible." Hikari nodded in agreement.

"I don't think the teachers will do much teaching today. Or tomorrow." she said glumly.

"Yeah. Hey, Hikari?" said Ayame. "Did you hear-you can volunteer?" Hikari looked at her in surprise.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah. And, if I get picked…please, please don't volunteer for me." said Ayame.

"If you do get picked, I most certainly have to do something." argued Hikari. "You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Both of us have the same chance of getting killed." said Hikari. "It doesn't matter who goes in. We most likely wouldn't come out." Ayame looked sadly at her friend.

"I guess." she said. She noticed people behind them listening. "Anyways, we might not get picked. No use arguing about it now." She hurried a surprised Hikari to their class.

* * *

Marui listened to the girls in front of him on his way to school. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do anyways.

"…you can volunteer?" one of the girls was saying, the one with the lighter hair.

"Really?" asked the other girl with darker hair; apparently, her name was Hikari.

"Yeah. And, if I get picked…please, please don't volunteer for me." said the other girl.

"If you do get picked, I most certainly have to do something. You would do the same for me, wouldn't you?" asked the girl called Hikari. The other girl looked troubled.

"Well, yes, but…" she said.

"Both of us have the same chance of getting killed," continued Hikari, "It doesn't matter who goes in. We most likely wouldn't come out."

_The fact that she can talk about this like it's nothing…is disturbing._ thought Marui. But then he realized that she may not actually be that calm about it on the inside.

"I guess." said the other girl. She turned around and saw him and the other people around him listening. "Anyways, we might not get picked. No use arguing about it now." She hurried Hikari away. Marui wasn't too happy about that. If he had continued listening to them, he could not think about his troubles for a minute. They were talking about the same things, but by himself, the troubles got worse. He just hoped that one of his twin brothers wouldn't get picked.

* * *

"School assembly…and we get out at 10. I should be happy, but I'm not." Ayame muttered to Hikari.

"I know. The principal is probably going to explain about everything." she said.

"Students! Please quiet down." started the principal. As the chattering stopped, he began to speak. "As you all know, a new government has taken over Japan. They have started something to show their power over us. From now on, every year, there will be a battle held somewhere in Japan. No one but themselves know where. This battle is called 'Trial of Fire', although there will not necessarily be fire involved. Each year, 2 students from the age of 12 to 18 will be chosen from every well known school in each prefecture. There will be around 50 participants. They will fight in an arena until one winner remains. Tomorrow, everyone from ages 12 to 18 will gather here, and we will hold the 'reaping'. From there, everyone else will go home and watch the battle while it is going on. School will not be held at this time. The tributes will go from here to the arena on a train. When they get there, they will be one day of training. There will be a place where every tribute can train. Then the next day, they will be released into the arena. Every time someone dies, there will be a cannon, and at night, the faces of the dead are projected into the sky. Good luck for tomorrow." He finished his speech and stepped off the stage. The students sat there in silence for some time, then slowly filed out of the auditorium.

"Some battle, huh?" said Ayame once they were walking home.

"Yeah. It…I don't even know what to say right now." said Hikari.

"Me too. I'm at least glad that my sister is too old for this. She's 19." said Ayame.

"I'm glad I'm an only child right now." said Hikari. Suddenly, a figure came up from behind them.

"Hey you two." she said.

"Hey Airi-chan." said Hikari. "Not your usual self today?"

"Who would be?" asked Airi-chan. "This is no time to be cheerful."

"I agree. Here's my house. Good luck tomorrow." said Ayame, stepping away from the group.

"You too." Hikari and Airi-chan replied.

And that was how the Trial of Fire started.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so that was the start of it. I've got the next chapter thought out, but I haven't typed it out yet. I'll try to update as soon as possible. If you didn't know, the main pairing will be Marui/OC. There might be other pairings too, I haven't thought about it yet. But I promise not to let the romance overrule the actual games/battle. It took me an hour to come up with that name. I was thinking "Battle of Pickles" at one point.**

**Next chapter: The Reaping. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Reaping

CHAPTER 2:

Hikari woke up with a nervous feeling in her stomach. It took a while before she realized that it was because of the reaping today. The students would just have to go to the reaping, then go home if they were not picked. Everyone from ages 12-18 going to Rikkai was supposed to fit in that auditorium. Really? How?

"I guess…I should get dressed." Hikari said, getting out of bed. She got ready and ate breakfast quickly. She was just coming out of her house when Airi-chan went up to her.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Nervous." Hikari admitted. "You?"

"Same." said Airi-chan. "We should get going. We're going to be late otherwise."

"Hey; do we have to watch the reaping from all the other schools?" asked Hikari as they walked.

"I think so. The tributes get a list of the other tributes. The government is going to make sure we watch everything, so we'll…I don't know how to explain it, but you get my point, right?" asked Airi-chan.

"I know what you mean. I hate this, but there isn't much we can do about it. At least this is the only bad think the government has really done so far. It's not like they're doing anything else bad." said Hikari.

"I guess that's good, but if the Trial of Fire doesn't end up like how they want it, bad things will happen." said Airi-chan. "You know, they do control everything in the Trial of Fire, but they can't control the tribute's actions. That could lead to something bad."

"That makes sense. It's creepy how they can control everything that happens." said Hikari.

"Yeah. I feel sad for all the young people; they have to grow up so quickly. Their childhood is supposed to be good." said Airi-chan. Hikari looked at her.

"We're still young. This time of our lives is supposed to be good too. We're also in a bad position." she said.

"I know." Airi-chan said softly.

Marui fidgeted as he turned to look for his brothers behind him. They all had to stay in their grades, but Marui promised to look out for his brothers. However much Marui might not show it, he really did love his brothers. They're family, after all. Niou also had a younger brother, but he knew Masaru could take care of himself for this part. Of course, Niou would volunteer if his brother got picked. He also did care for his brother. A government official walked to one of the large bowls on the stage. Marui figured that one of them was for the girls and the other for the boys.

"Ladies first." said the woman. She reached into the bowl and shuffled the names around before picked one out. She unfolded it slowly.

"Satou Hikari."

A collective gasp went up from around Hikari. Ayame and Airi-chan both put their hands on her arms. She gently shook them off and smiled at them. They just stared back at her.

"Don't." Hikari said quietly to Ayame, who looked like she was about to speak. She closed her mouth. Airi-chan looked like she was about to cry.

"Satou Hikari? Come up, please." said the woman. Hikari closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before walking to the stage.

"She was the one I saw yesterday." Marui muttered to himself. He felt bad for her. She didn't look like the calculating sort, and she didn't look like the type to use a weapon. But you couldn't judge someone based on their looks.

"Now for the boys." said the woman, reaching into the other bowl. Hikari stood near the girls side unsurely. The woman pulled out a name, and, once again, opened it slowly.

"Marui Daichi." she said. Niou looked over at Marui, who was standing in shock. He saw his brother step out of line, leaving his twin brother, Taichi, staring after him. Before Taichi could speak, Marui stepped out of line.

"Don't say anything, Taichi!" he yelled. Everyone looked at him. As the guards stepped up towards Marui, he yelled, "I volunteer!" Whispers erupted around them.

"Well, come on up here, then." said the woman. Marui stepped towards Daichi, and Taichi ran out to meet him. Marui hugged them both. They were shaking.

"Don't worry. I'll see you in a little bit, I think they allow you to see the ones you're close to. Tell mom and dad to come. Maybe the guards will do that anyways." said Marui. Then he stood up and went to the stage.

"Bunta! Don't!" yelled Daichi and Taichi. Guards stepped up to take them away from the auditorium. Marui stepped onto stage.

"A volunteer…what's your name?" asked the woman.

"Marui Bunta." said Marui.

"Good, good. Now, shake hands!" said the woman, stepping back so Hikari and Marui could shake hands. Hikari and Marui just looked at each other. Then Hikari stuck out her hand and Marui took it for a second. It felt as cold as ice. If Marui had held onto her hand for a little longer, he would have felt her trembling.

"Let the first annual Trial of Fire begin!"

The guards on the stage escorted them out of the auditorium and to one of the classrooms nearby.

"Wait here." they told Marui and Hikari. "Your family and close friends will see you here. Then we will take you to the train station." Then they left the room. Marui and Hikari sat in silence until a brown haired woman and a man who had Hikari's eyes burst in. The woman hugged Hikari. They were obviously Hikari's parents.

"I can't believe this happened." said her mom. Just as Hikari was about to reply, Marui's parents and twin brothers burst in. Daichi and Taichi attached themselves to his waist. Nomally, they aren't so emotional, but this is different. Marui probably wouldn't come back alive. Normally, his parents weren't so worried about him either, as they were so amazed at his genius brother, but again, this was different.

"Bunta, come back." said his mother, hugging him. His dad hugged him too.

"Be smart. I know you can be." said his father shakily. He didn't know it, but these words gave Marui hope. Hope that if he came back, his parents would pay attention to him again and say that he was a genius again. As they let go, Daichi and Taichi hugged him even tighter.

"You have to come back. Then we can play with Nerf guns again." said Daichi.

"And eat brownies like we always do." said Taichi. Marui smiled and ruffled their hair.

"Course I'll come back. Don't eat too much when I'm gone. Leave some for me." he said. They nodded, then were forced out of the room, along with Hikari's parents. He didn't tell his brothers that if he did come back, he would be changed. He would never be the same again. Suddenly, the whole tennis team came in. Right behind them, the light haired girl and another girl ran in and hugged Hikari. Akaya threw himself at Marui, sobbing.

"You can win, can't you?" he asked.

"I'm a genius, remember?" said Marui, grinning. Akaya nodded. Jackal was next.

"Be careful, Marui. I'm not there to help." he said.

"I know. I can be smart, you know." said Marui. Briefly, Marui remembered all the times he spent with Jackal and wondered if there would be any more. He turned to Niou. Niou was his best friend, and they understood each other more than anyone. Niou didn't have to say anything. Messages were conveyed with their eyes.

"Don't die out there." he said, smirking. Marui gave him a little nod.

"I won't. Daichi and Taichi…" Marui tried to tell him to take care of them, but he couldn't say the words.

"I will." said Niou.

"Make alliances, Marui-kun. They could help more than you know." said Yagyuu.

"I would give you data about things you might need to know, but there is no time. Just do your best." said Yanagi, because he actually had the ability to talk without using percents.

"Remember that you must be fire sometimes; and then you must be ice. Change will happen quickly." said Sanada. Marui didn't really understand that, but he assumed he would eventually. "We will be watching. We will help you as much as we can." Luckily, people at home had the ability to grant gifts. They did have to pay, and prices were high, but it was possible to help. Marui turned to Yukimura, who looked unusually angry that something like this had happened and he had no way to stop it.

"Remember; we are Rikkai. We will never lose, no matter what. You will come back to us."

* * *

"You have to come back." said Ayame.

"I'll try." said Hikari.

"Try isn't good enough." said Ayame.

"But it's the most I can do." Hikari said softly.

"Doesn't matter. You will come back." said Ayame.

"And I know you can do it. You're smart. You'll figure it out." said Airi-chan.

"I will. Thank you for being my friends." said Hikari.

"Don't—" said Ayame. She was going to say "Don't talk like that." but she couldn't get the words out.

"Just in case." said Hikari. And they said no more until the guards came to take them away. A little while later, the guards came back.

"Come with us to the train." said one of them. Marui and Hikari were pushed through the school and to a car which took them to the train station.

"The government officials will meet you in there." said one of the guards, then they left. Marui and Hikari walked onto the train.

"Why are there no windows?" asked Marui.

"They probably don't want us to know where we're going. I'm guessing Tokyo." said Hikari, shrugging.

"You are right about why we don't have windows." said the government official who had reaped their names, stepping out of the shadows. Hikari jumped.

"How did you-" started Hikari.

"I am known for my stealth." said the woman. "Now, let's go to the dining car and I will tell you what you need to know."

* * *

"This trip will take a few hours-approximately 3. We will reach the area at 1:00. You may eat whatever you like, and your rooms are over there." said the woman, pointing to a nearby hallway. "When we get there, you have the choice of training for a while, or you can explore and rest. It will be a nice place. Here is the list of the other tributes." The woman pushed a sheet of paper towards them and stood up. "I'm going to my room. Ask anyone for assistance." As she walked away, Hikari pulled the paper towards her, scanning the list of tributes. Her eyes stopped at one of the Tokyo tributes.

"I know her." she said, pointing to a name under the Seigaku division. The name read "Watanabe Sayuri". "I know some others too because of tennis. I assume you do too." she said.

"How do you know them through tennis?" asked Marui.

"I watch the games. I like watching." said Hikari. She pushed the list towards him and went over to the sweet foods. Marui looked at the list and recognized some of the names.

"Fuji…he's the genius, but this is Fuji Yuuta. Isn't that his brother?" he asked.

"Yeah. He's pretty protective of him. Not this time, apparently." said Hikari.

"How do you know that?" asked Marui.

"That girl tribute-she's one of my best friends. She's friends with Fuji. That's how I know." said Hikari.

"Oh." said Marui. "I should eat as much as I can. I doubt there'll be sweet stuff in the Trial."

"Oh, right, you're that sweets and bubblegum guy." said Hikari. "I like sweet things too, but I don't play a sport to make up for it. I'm going to my room to see what it's like. You should too."

"Look at your room?" asked Marui. Hikari gave him an _are-you-dumb? _look.

"No, genius, I meant yours." she said.


	3. Chapter 3: Before the Trial

CHAPTER 3: BEFORE THE TRIAL

After a while, there was a knock on Hikari's door. She opened it to find the government official.

"We're almost there, so you need to be in the dining car." she said, then turned around to knock on Marui's door and relate the same message. Yuki didn't wait for Marui to come out and went to the dining car. She looked at the list again.

**_Tokyo_**

_Seishun Academy_

_Girl: Watanabe, Sayuri (16)_

_Boy: Hanamura, Daisuke (14)_

_Volunteer for Fuji, Yuuta: Fuji, Syuuske. (16) Could not volunteer for him because Fuji, Yuuta, is in a different school. Now is in the Trial._

Hikari raised her eyebrows at the last one. She could only imagine how horrible they must feel right now. Probably sick. That must suck.

_Hyotei  
_  
_Girl: Nakamura, Mina (15)_

_Boy: Ootori, Choutarou (16)(volunteered for Shishido, Ryou)_

Oh. Poor Shishido. Hikari knew they were doubles partners, and that Ootori was too nice for his own good. She was pretty sure he was going to get killed in the Trial.

_Yamabuki  
_  
_Girl: Sengoku, Maya (18) (volunteered for Watanabe, Akane)_

_Boy: Sengoku, Kiyosumi (16)_

Ouch. Hikari knew Sengoku as that lucky guy on the tennis team, and she realized that Sengoku, Maya, must be his sister. She assumed they would be together in the Trial. If not, that would be pretty sad. It must be horrible, to have both of them in the Trial.

_St Rudolph  
_  
_Girl: Kikyo, Chika (13)_

_Boy: Fuji, Yuuta (15)_

_Fudomine  
_  
_Girl: Tachibana, Ann (15)_

_Boy: Shirogane, Yoshiro (18)_

_Volunteer for Tachibana, Ann: Tachibana, Kippei. (17) Tried to volunteer, but could not because he is a boy and she is a girl. Only a girl can volunteer for a girl. Now in the Trial._

Hikari assumed that the siblings would be together. She decided to stay away from the sibling pairs; they would be exceptionally aggressive to keep their sibling from getting killed.

**_KANAGAWA_**

_Rikkaidai  
_  
_Girl: Satou, Hikari (16)_

_Boy: Marui, Bunta (17) (Volunteered for Marui, Daichi)_

Hikari smiled bitterly at that one. Nothing she could do to change it…but she wished the paper said she was 17. She would be 17 in a month, after all…

_Yokohama City School  
_  
_Boy: Tatsumi, Ryotarou (14)_

_Girl: Hino, Nanako (12)_

**_CHIBA_**

_Rokkaku  
_  
_Girl: Matsunaga, Eri (17)_

_Boy: Seta, Hikaru (12)_

**_OSAKA_**

_Shitenhouji_

_Girl: Watanabe, Amaya (16)_

_Boy: Oshitari, Kenya (16)_

**_OKINAWA_**

_Higa  
_  
_Girl: Shou, Yukiko (15)_

_Boy: Kite, Eishirou (16)_

There were some other names on the list of course, but these were the ones that looked familiar to Hikari. Or rather, the names of the schools were familiar. She scanned the list and found that there were about 50ish people. Man, that was a lot…but then again, there were a lot of schools in Japan.

Hikari looked doubtfully at the tributes from Higa. They were known for being tough and horrible and totally unfair. If she remembered correctly, from middle school, Kite was known as…

"Killer?" asked someone from behind her. "Better avoid him if you can help it." Hikari turned around and as she did so, fell on the floor. She looked up to a laughing Marui.

"Stop laughing!" she exclaimed.

"That was funny, though!"

"You suck." said Hikari sulkily. The government official came in and frowned as she saw Hikari on the floor.

"A girl on the floor does not make for a good impression. You might want to get up." she said. Hikari got up slowly.

"It wasn't as if I meant to be there." muttered Hikari.

"Well, we're almost here, about 5 more minutes. Once we are out of the train, someone will lead you to where you will be staying tonight and tomorrow night. From there, you can train if you wish." said the woman, seemingly not hearing Hikari. Hikari sullenly sat down and tried to eat a cookie, but she found that she couldn't get it down. She ran out of the room, ignoring Marui's surprised look. She ran to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bath.

"I'm not scared." Hikari said out loud to herself. Then she sighed. "I _am_ scared. There's no lying to myself." In fact, it seemed like she couldn't show any emotion right now because she was that scared.

_At least they're not throwing us into the arena the minute we get here…but even with the training, I've never held any sort of weapon in my life! Maybe I should just stick to survival skills and hope I'm just the last one left…_ Hikari thought to herself. However, she knew that she had to learn how to use at least one weapon decently. She wouldn't survive otherwise. Although when people are scared, they usually do things they normally couldn't, like throw a knife properly.

"I will come back. And I will not kill those who I like. I will try to not kill anyone as much as I can. Only for protection." Hikari said firmly to her reflection in the giant mirror. She absolutely did not want to kill a human, and even if she did survive, she wouldn't be able to live with it. She doubted she could come back from the Trial without killing anyone, though. What if she liked it? What if she became a deranged murderer? What if—no. Not thinking that way. Hikari took a deep breath and came out of the bathroom. She walked back to the dining car to see the government official beckoning Marui out of the train. She looked at Hikari.

"You will be taken from here to the place you will be staying. The training area is in that place." she said, pushing Marui out of the train. "Come on." She looked expectantly at Hikari. Hikari took another deep breath, looked back at the dining car, and stepped out of the train. She was okay. She could do this.

* * *

**A/N: So this chapter was pretty short. Sorry, I forgot that I promised to have this up by tomorrow, so I was sorta pressured to finish the chapter. I was going to go on to a little of the training, but I decided that this was a good place to stop. So the next chapter will be all about the training, and it might start the Trial. I don't actually know. I don't really write the story, the story writes itself. I hope that makes sense.**

**Oh, and I wouldn't expect another chapter in the next week. Although I might be able to post another chapter of There's More to a Person Than the Eye Can See by Sunday. Maybe. It depends. If I don't post another chapter by Sunday, I'll post it the next week. :D**

**Review please! :D**


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